chicagotribune

Proponents of a Cole County sales tax increase to help at-risk youth are asking the County Commission to place the issue on the April 2 ballot.“Putting Kids First” organizers told commissioners Tuesday they had planned to gather the 3,000 petition signatures needed to put the issue on the ballot by Jan. 4. However, as of Tuesday, they only had 200 signatures. With the holidays near, they didn’t see how they could reach the threshold, they said.The organizers faced a Jan. 4 deadline for the petitions so the Cole County clerk’s office had time to verify signatures on the petition. The deadline for governmental bodies to put a measure on the April ballot is Jan. 22.Jefferson City resident Ed Storey, the leader of the group, told commissioners he and his wife were willing to put up the cost to put the measure on the ballot.Commissioners did not give any indication as to how they might decide on the issue.The initiative was started by Storey and other residents to … [Read more...] about ‘Kids First’ tax increase considered

A former employee pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to embezzling nearly $150,000 from Eldon Drug Company in Eldon.Katherine Cebuhar, 41, of Olean, waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud.Authorities said Cebuhar worked as the office manager for MLX-RX, LLC d/b/a Eldon Drug Company, a pharmacy in Eldon, from April 2014 until her termination on March 1, 2017. By pleading guilty, Cebuhar admitted she conducted four fraudulent embezzlement schemes while employed at Eldon Drug Company, resulting in a total loss to her employer of $148,782.Cebuhar embezzled $125,444 of the cash receipts from September 2014 to June 2017. Cebuhar took cash from the company’s daily receipts before making the deposits into the company’s bank account. To conceal her fraud and embezzlement, Cebuhar modified and reduced QuickBooks entries to match the bank deposits.In her second scheme, Cebuhar falsely inflated her wages by awarding herself unauthorized … [Read more...] about Former employee guilty in drug company theft

A former student at Lincoln University pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to her role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine that was sent through the mail by a co-conspirator in California.Bria Royale Lanier-Richie, 24, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from March 30-April 4, 2017.Co-defendant Shadeed Seifullah Muhammad, 42, of Compton, California, mailed a package, which contained approximately 1 pound, 9 ounces of methamphetamine, from California to an address at Lincoln on March 30, 2017. By pleading guilty, Lanier-Richie admitted another co-defendant, Javier Rashad Rosser, 32, of Jefferson City, asked her to pick up the package and deliver it to him.Lanier-Richie attempted to pick up the package, but was unable to because the package had been addressed to another student. On April 4, 2017, U.S. Postal Inspection agents set up a controlled delivery and surveillance at the Lincoln University mailroom. When the … [Read more...] about Former LU student guilty of federal drug charges

Gov. Mike Parson said Tuesday he wants to enact a law enabling the state to collect millions of dollars of new tax revenue from out-of-state retailers who sell things to Missouri residents.The new online sales tax provision will be part of Parson’s agenda for the legislative session that starts Jan. 9, the governor said in an interview with the Associated Press.Though there is no definitive plan yet for the potential new revenue, it could help propel other aspects of Parson’s agenda to boost infrastructure funding and workforce development.The U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for states to rake in greater online sales tax collections in a June ruling that upheld a South Dakota law. That decision overturned a decades-old precedent stating businesses without a physical presence in a state — such as a store, office or warehouse — didn’t have to collect sales taxes on behalf of the state. In such cases, customers technically were responsible for paying the … [Read more...] about Governor wants law for online sales tax collections

With an increase in early and online shopping for gifts, there is no longer a “busiest day” for holiday shipping, the U.S. Postal Service said in a news release last week.Instead, the USPS predicts this week to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week, with nearly 3 billion pieces of first class mail, including greeting cards, likely to be processed and delivered.In addition, the Postal Service is projecting about 15 billion pieces of mail, including 900 million packages, will be delivered between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve.Using correct addressing, packaging gifts well and mailing by recommended deadline dates can help ensure holiday wishes are received by loved-ones by Dec. 25.To meet the holiday deadline, the Postal Service set the following deadlines:• Thursday for first class packages (up to 15.99 ounces), first class mail (including greeting cards) and priority mail.• Saturday for priority mail express.Even then, with the mail volumes, … [Read more...] about Holiday mailing deadlines approaching